Draw latch



Se t. 29, 1964 L. R. POE 3,150,893

DRAW LATCH Filed Oct. 29, 1962 I INVENTOR; 40m lac/r420 R7:

United States Patent Ofiice Patented Sept. 29, 1%64:

3,1593%: DRAW LATGH Lloyd Richard Poe, Les Angeies, Caiifi, assignor toHartwell Corporation, Los Angeies, Calih, a corporation of CaliforniaFiled Oct. 29, 1962, Ser. No. 233,691 6 Claims. (Cl. 292-111) Thisinvention relates to draw latches, that is to latches, which by turninga handle, move a hook-type latch axially to engage a keeper so that theparts on which the latch and keeper are mounted are drawn together.

Included in the objects of this invention are:

First, to provide a draw latch which incorporates a novel locking means,whereby the latch may be readily locked to the keeper, when the parts onwhich the keeper and latch are mounted, are drawn together.

Second, to provide a draw latch of this type which does not requireclose tolerances in the spacing between the latch and keeper and betweenthe member on which they are mounted, the locking means being such thatthe latch may be locked in a multiplicity of positions differing inspacing by only a few thousandths of an inch.

Third, to provide a draw latch which incorporates a novel locking meansnormally maintained in a locked position by a spring, and adapted to bereleased by a cam means, carried by a handle, employed to operate thelatch.

With the above and other objects in view as may appear hereinafter,reference is directed to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top or planned view of the latch.

FIGURE 2 is a side view thereof indicating in section and fragmentarilya door and frame on which a latch is mounted.

FIGURE 3 is a partial sectional, partial bottom view of the latch withthe keeper omitted, the view being taken through 33 of FIGURE 2 FIGURE 4is a sectional view taken through 4-4 of FIGURE 2, showing particularlythe body member and a drive disk.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged, transverse, sectional view taken through 5-5 ofFIGURE 2 showing particularly the locking means in its disengagedposition, and showing the handle by solid lines in one position and bybroken lines in a position at right angles to the solid lined position.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged, transverse, sectional view similar to FIGURE 5,but showing the locking means in its locked position.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view showing the mannerin which the handle is mounted in the drive disk stem.

The draw latch includes a base plate 1 having upstanding ears 2 whichreceive a pivot pin 3. The base plate is adapted to be fastened by oneor more screws, not shown, to a door or other member on which it isdesired to mount the latch. A body member 4 is provided which may be inthe form of a sheet metal stamping having a rolled end 5 adapted toreceive the pivot pin 3.

Formed in the body member 4 is a shallow circular housing 6, itsunderside forming a shallow recess or cavity. The upper side. of thehousing is provided with a large opening, the margins of which areprovided with serrations or teeth 7 to form a fixed locking means.

At the sides of the body member 4, between the hous ing 6 and the rolledend 5, the body member is provided with a pair of inturned guide lugs 8.A similar pair of guide lugs 9 are provided at the opposite side of thehousing.

The two pairs of guide lugs serve to support and guide the latch plate10 underlying the body member 4. The

guide lugs 9 may be closer spaced than the guide lugs 8, and thecorresponding portion of the latch plate which extends forwardly withthe body member is reduced in width.

The forwardly extending portion of the latch plate terminates in ahooked end II, which is adapted to engage a keeper I2 mounted on thedoor frame or the other member cooperating with the member on which thebase plate I is secured.

The portion of the latch plate 10 underlying the housing 6 is providedwith a downwardly offset clearance recess 13. Within the recess thelatch plate is provided with a perforation 14 which forms a bearing.

Rotatably mounted Within the housing 6 is a latch drive disk 15 having aperipheral flange I6 journaling within the circular walls of thehousing. The drive disk I5 is provided with a central boss or stem 17which extends upwardly through the upper side of the housing 6.

The underside of the drive disk is provided with a bearing recess 18. Aconnecting link 19 having upwardly and downwardly extending journal lugs29 and 21 at its extremities interconnects the bearing recess 18 andbearing perforation I4. The bearing recess 18 is eccentrically locatedso that on rotation of the drive disk 15, the latch plate It is movedlongitudinally.

The upper portion of the central boss or stem 17 is preferably square incross-section and slidably receives a locking disk 22 having a squareopening so as to rotate with the drive disk IS. The locking disk 22 isprovided with peripheral serrations or teeth 23 adapted to fit withinthe marginal serrations 7 to lock the drive disk 15 against rotationrelative to the housing 6.

A spring 24 surrounds the stem 17 and bears against the disk 15 andlocking disk 22 to urge the locking disk into locking engagement withthe fixed locking means formed by the serrations 7.

The extremity of the stem 17 is provided with a recess 25 having across-slot 26. A handle member 27 formed of a flat plate is providedwith a bifurcand end connected by an integral cross bar 28. Thebifurcated end straddles the stem 17 and the cross bar 28 journalswithin the cross slot 26. A retainer disk 29 closes the recess 25 toretain the cross bar and handle in place, and in turn is held by forcingthe portions of the extremities of the stem over the disk by what iscommonly termed a staking operation.

The bifurcated portion of the handle member projects beyond the crossbar 28 to form a pair or" cam lugs it which, when the handle member ispivoted from a hori zontal position shown in FIGURE 6 to a verticalposition shown in FIGURE 5, engages the locking disk 22 to depress thelocking disk clear or" the serrations 7.

The location of the cross slot 26 in the stem 17 is such that, when thehandle is at its folded position shown in FIGURE 6, the underside of thehandle is essentially flush with the top side of the housing 5 so thatthe looking disk is restrained against upper displacement beyond themarginal serrations 7.

Operation of the draw latch is as follows:

When the handle is in its upright position shown in FIGURES l, 2, and 5,the lockingdisk 22 is disengaged from the fixed locking means orserrations 7 and is held out of engagement by the cam lugs 30. Thehandle, when in this position, may be used to turn the drive disk 15 sothat the connecting link 19 may move the latch plate 16 longitudinally.

When the latch plate has engaged its keeper l2 and drawn the two membersto which the base plate 1 and keeper 12 are mounted into mutualengagement, as indicated in FIGURE 2, the handle may be pivoted to itsfolded position as shown in FIGURE 6 so that the locking disk 22 engagesthe marginal serrations 7 and locks the drive disk against rotation,thereby locking the latch plate it) against longitudinal displacement.

it will be observed that the large number of serrations or teeth '7 and23 may be provided so that, at virtually any position of the latch plate1%, the latch plate may be securely locked so as to insure that themembers joined by the draw latch are held in tight abutment.

While a particular embodiment of this invention has been shown anddescribed, it is not intended to limit the same to the exact details ofthe construction set forth and it embraces such changes, modifications,and equivalents of the parts and their formation and arrangement as comewithin the purview of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A draw latch comprising:

(a) alatch plate;

(1:) a body member slidably receiving said latch plate;

() a rotatable drive member journalled in said body member;

(d) a drive linkage operatively connecting said drive member and latchplate to eilect longitudinal movement of said latch plate on rotation ofsaid drive member;

(6) interengageable locking means interposed between said body memberand drive member for securing said drive member and said latch plateagainst movement;

(f) and a handle connected with said drive member and including anelement for disengaging said locking means to free said drive member foroperation of said latch plate.

2. A draw latch comprising:

(a) alatch plate;

([2) a body member slidably receiving said latch plate;

(0) a rotatable drive member journalled in said body member;

(d) a drive linkage operatively connecting said drive member and latchplate to eifect longitudinal movement of said latch plate on rotation ofsaid drive member;

(e) locking means including mutually engageable locking elementsinterposed between said body member and drive member;

(3) a spring urging said locking elements into mutual engagement therebyto secure said drive member and latch plate against movement;

(g) and a handle pivotally connected to said drive member about an axistransverse to the axis of rotation of the drive member and including cammeans engageable with said clutch to effect disengagement thereby tofree said drive member and latch plate for movement.

3. A draw latch comprising:

(a) alatch plate;

(b) a body member slidably receiving said latch plate;

(0) a rotatable drive member journalled in said body member;

(d) a drive linkage operatively connecting said drive member and latchplate to eifect longitudinalmovement of said latch plate on rotation ofsaid drive member;

(e) locking means including fixed and movable locking elements having amultiplicity of intenengaging teeth whereby said locking elements areengageable in a multiplicity of relative positions;

(f) and a handle connected with said drive member and including anelement for disengaging said locking means to free said drive member foroperation of said latch plate.

4. A draw latch comprising:

(a) alatchplate;

(b) a body member slidably receiving said latch plate;

(c) a rotatable drive member journalled in said body member;

(d) a drive linkage operatively connecting said drive member and latchplate to effect longitudinal movement of said latch plate on rotation ofsaid drive member;

(:2) locking means including fixed and movable'locking elements having amultiplicity of interengaging teeth whereby said locking elements areengageable in a multiplicity of relative positions;

(f) a spring urging said locking elements into mutual engagement therebyto secure said drive member and latch plate against movement;

(11) and a handle pivotally connected to said drive member about an axistransverse to the axis of rotation of the drive member and including cammeans engageable with said clutch toetfect disengagement thereby to freesaid drive member and latch plate for movement.

5. A draw latch comprising:

(a) alatch plate;

(b) a body member overlying and slidably receiving said latch plate,said body member having a circular recessed portion confronting saidlatch plate, and an annular fixed locking element concentric with saidrecessed portion;

(c) a latch drive disk journalled in said recess and having a centralstern extending upwardly through said fixed locking element;

((1) a drive means interconnecting said drive disk and latch plate toeffect longitudinal movement of said latch plate on rotation of saiddrive disk;

(e) a circular movable locking element rotatable with said drive diskand slidable on said stem for engagement with said fixed lockingelement;

(f) a handle connected to said stem for rotating said drive disk, saidhandle including a cam for disengaging said locking elements;

(g) and yieldable means urging said locking elements into engagement.

6. A draw latch comprising:

(a) a latch plate;

(b) a body member overlying and slidably receiving said latch plate,said body member having a circular recessed portion confronting saidlatch plate and an aperture concentric with said recessed portion, theaperture being bordered by a ring of fixed locking teeth;

(0) a latch drive disk journalled in said recess and having a centralstem extending upwardly through said aperture;

(d) a drive means interconnecting said drive disk and latch plate toeffect longitudinal movement of said latch plate on rotation of saiddrive disk;

(e) a locking disk rotatable with said drive disk and slidable on saidstem, said locking disk having peripheral locking teeth;

(f) a spring urging said locking teeth into interengagement for lockingsaid drive disk and latch plate in any of a multiplicity of positions;

g) and a handle pivotally connected to said stern and including a cammeans for urging said locking disk to disengage said locking teeth,thereby to permit movement of said drive disk and latch plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,820,995 Schlueter Jan. 28, 1958 2,853,751 Schlueter Sept. 30, 19582,853,752 Schlueter Sept. 30, 1958

1. A DRAW LATCH COMPRISING: (A) A LATCH PLATE; (B) A BODY MEMBERSLIDABLY RECEIVING SAID LATCH PLATE; (C) A ROTATABLE DRIVE MEMBERJOUARNALLED IN SAID BODY MEMBER; (D) A DRIVE LINKAGE OPERATIVELYCONNECTING SAID DRIVE MEMBER AND LATCH PLATE TO EFFECT LONGITUDINALMOVEMENT OF SAID LATCH PLATE ON ROTATION OF SAID DRIVE MEMBER; (E)INTERENGAGEABLE LOCKING MEANS INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID BODY MEMBER ANDDRIVE MEMBER FOR SECURING SAID DRIVE MEMBER AND SAID LATCH PLATE AGAINSTMOVEMENT; (F) AND A HANDLE CONNECTED WITH SAID DRIVE MEMBER ANDINCLUDING AN ELEMENT FOR DISENGAGING SAID LOCKING MEANS TO FREE SAIDDRIVE MEMBER FOR OPERATION OF SAID LATCH PLATE.